Kustavi Church, Kustavi, Finland

There were originally two wooden chapels in Kustavi, one in Vartsala (first record from the year 1554) and another in Kunnarainen (1675). In 1783 Kunnarainen chapel was moved to the current site and reconstructed by J. Höckert. The new parish church was named after the king of Sweden, Gustaf III. The church was enhanced between years 1876-1879 and again in 1928.

The pulpit dates back to the 1640s. There are also couple of beautiful miniature ships (so-called votive ships) made by local islanders. The church environment is a well-preversed sample of wooden architecture in Finland.

User Reviews

1Johannes Peltonen (12 months ago)
Nice

Pentti Kotiaho (17 months ago)
Fine. The panels in the left branch are said to have been evacuated here from Seiskari church during the war.

Vivi Paljakka (3 years ago)
The cemetery has interesting graves for lovers of the Volter Shield archipelago series. Of course also Shield's tomb.

Mika Sundell (3 years ago)
(15.5.2021) on the spot

Mm Mm (4 years ago)
A beautiful old wooden church that is well suited to the archipelago landscape.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright mixteri

Historic Site of the week

Bengtskär Lighthouse

Towering 52 meters above the sea, Bengtskär lighthouse is the tallest one in Scandinavia. The building started in in 1905 after the shipwreck of S/S Helsingfors and was completed in 1906. The lighthouse was designed by architect Florentin Granholm. On December a special petrol lantern, designed and built in Paris, was brought to Bengtskär and installed atop the tower.

German fleet bombarded Bengstkär in the First World War in 1914. Since the Gulf of Finland was heavily mined, it was not until 1919 that the surrounding seas were declared safe for shipping, that the light was lit again.

After the war the military value of Bengtskär increased as part of the defence system of independent Finland. In Second World War (1941) Soviet Union made a suprise attack to island. After a bloody battle, the small Finnish garrison emerged victorious. Intermittent repairs to the facility continued during the post-war period.

Kustavi Church

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Bengtskär Lighthouse